a kevin wada art blog

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Hey all, I'm not sure who follows this blog anymore but it is time for it to meet it's maker. I've decided to discontinue posting here, and strictly posting on Tumblr. Having two blogs was just silly and if you'd like to continue to follow my work, follow me here:

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Attention all San Francisco natives, if you’re thinking about attending the Alternative Press Expo this year (Oct 13-14), let me stop you, slap you, and tell you to stop thinking and just do it. I’ve decided to do commissions for the show and if you’re not in SF, tell your friends who are so they can buy cool art for themselves, or as minions doing your bidding. The piece above, which I’ve decided to include as a trio in my Duets collection, is indicative of the style and look of these commissions.

The rules are simple:

- Request list open from now till Friday Oct. 5. Email me at k@kevinwada.com to request.

- 9x9” square

- Limited watercolor palette on watercolor paper

- $60 - 1 character

- Prices can be negotiated for more than 1 character

- Pieces are to be picked up sometime during the show

- Let me know if you see the piece more akin to my fashion pieces, or something more traditional - perhaps you have a favorite costume you want me to be faithful to or reimagine?

- Any requests are welcome, doesn’t have to be Marvel or X-men or anything I’ve ever touched before. In fact, I encourage other reaches of the geek universe to flex my fingers a bit.

As for the piece above (which if you can’t tell, is of Harley, Selina, and Ms. Pamela of Batman fame), it will be on sale at APE along with tons of other originals! So come one, come all, looking forward to hearing back from you guys and don’t forget to spread the word to all your favorite San Franciscans :P

Super excited to share one of my latest commissions. The client was debating between X-couples Hulkling and Wiccan (Wickling?) and Rictor and Shatterstar (Ricstar?) and finally decided to just include both - much to my satisfaction. He was inspired by men's fashion ads and backstage shots of models lined up with their designers. After drawing women so much it's always really refreshing to get the chance to draw some sharp, well dressed mensss.

I tried to let the color palettes of each character's costumes speak to me and inform what they would end up wearing and what colors should be most prominent. I think this was most successfully done with Wiccan, whose colors and patterns all call back to his costume. Rictor and Shatterstar I had more problems with because I couldn't decide which costumes to play off of for them. The client wanted Ricstar to be a little more refined, dressed in suits, and Wickling to be younger, more playful and bold. I had a blast designing clothes for these men and only wish Shatterstar had an outfit that was a bit more punctuated.

Also, I hope it reads, but Wiccan is closer, and leaning his head toward the camera, and Rictor is the furthest back. They don't all just have radically different sized heads. :P

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Here is Part 2 of the Kitty Pryde series, and for now, it will be the last installment. The client who commissioned these really wants to continue into the 90s costumes but for now my commission queue is a bit long. I think the classic costumed Kitty is my favorite. She is by far the most simple of the bunch, but I feel like her face is the best. The colors and shapes in that piece really please me and I'm happiest most with that one. The second costume is from when Kitty wanted to spice up her team outfit a bit more and decided to dress herself. Therefore, it's a crazy, zany, colorful mess. But it's kinda dope too.

In other news, I got into APE (Alternative Press Expo, held by Comic Con International)! I'm very excited that I made it through the wait list but now I have to crazy rush to create some good product for you all. For sure I will be selling postcards of the X-fashions again - those were a huge hit last year. I'll also make sure to bring some in 8x12" format. I'm going to hustle and create a whole new slew of prints and I fully intend to sell ORIGINALS there as well - big, small, in between, all different price points. A few quick questions for you SF natives:

1. If I set up a commission request system, would any of you be into it? It would have a fixed price and fixed size/guidelines. You can email me up to 1 week before the event and come pick them up at APE? Any takers?

2. What would YOU like to see me sell there? More postcards/$5 or less type stuff? More prints? More originals? A booklet? What do you enjoy seeing your artists sell?

Monday, August 27, 2012

Here is Miss Kitty, in two very rare incarnations. These are part of a commission set displaying various costumes of Kitty throughout the 80s. I myself had never seen the green one before and it was a really fun commission because so often, artists, fans, readers tend to focus on the more popular outfits. My client really appreciated the action pose of the green outfit, but I think the next two in this series are my favorites. Had to get Lockheed in there somewhere. As just a decorative element I think he really balances out the compositions. Hope you guys enjoy!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Hot on the trail of the last Duets piece is this one of Thor and Storm. Many people responded back saying that they thought they would make a good duet, and truth be told, they were the next couple I was planning on recreating anyway. So it all works out. The Storm seen here is lifted from my original X-men group shot with minimal changes. Thor was a lot of fun to play with. I didn't want to change anything too dramatically and went back and forth on whether or not to draw his helmet in. In the end I decided to leave it out, simplify his costume, give him a Roman-esque chest plate and draped cape instead of the shoulder-padded one he usually sports. The original of this will be up at my store for sale as was the first duet (which is now sold!)

Monday, August 13, 2012

I was going to wait to post this when I had more of it's kind to accompany it, but it's been so long since I've posted something I was beginning to have withdrawals. I've been loving all of the fashion/superhero work I've been doing, but sometimes I have a hankering for one or the other. My X-men group piece with my own (non-fashion-inspired) renditions of the characters went over well so I thought I'd do some quick one off pieces featuring whatever characters I wanted...in looks of my own creation. Granted, Ms. Elektra and Mr. Wolverine here aren't in anything earth-shattering or unique, but the thought of getting to create my own "looks" for them that would still fit in the comic world was too good to pass up. I always love Logan in rugged street clothes. It just seems to fit his character so much more than a colorful leotard. And for Elektra I wanted something dramatic and sharp. Something that made it look like her top half had been dipped in blood.

This will be the first of many and the original will also be available on my store for purchase. Prints my be available after the original goes. For now, I think I'll dub this series "Duets," and all the originals will be put up at my store. Any suggestions on who would make good pairs?

As always, a remainder to retumble my images from my (not so) new tumblr

And check in to my store every now and then to see which new originals will be posted.

About Me

My work tends to range from mainly editorial to character/fashion work, although I do have an affinity for the latter. Currently in San Francisco hustlin' as an illustrator.
You can contact me at k@kevinwada.com